Beat

CARSON, Calif. – There’s no doubt that Mike Magee is in great form as of late, but will it translate into a call for the U.S. National Team?

Magee is tied with Philadelphia Union forward Jack McInerney for the MLS lead in goals scored with six goals in seven appearances this season. As he sits just one goal away from tying his career high for goals in a single season, which was set during his rookie season with the MetroStars in 2003, it’s not surprise that he’s feeling confident.

“It’s always good to score goals and it’s even better when the team is winning,” Magee said. “I’m obviously enjoying my soccer right now.”

But as Magee continues to score goals, calls for him to be included in the U.S. National Team will continue to persist. Magee has never been called into the senior national team, but he participated in the U.S. youth set up earlier in his career.

No conversations have gone on between Magee and U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann or any member of his staff, but the 28-year-old would welcome inclusion if called upon whether it is the 2013 Gold Cup or any other National Team match.

“I would love to be a part of the National Team. I’m obviously just trying to do all the cliché things and do business with the Galaxy knowing that if you play well here then you could get a call up, but if it doesn't then I’ll be okay,” he said. “Obviously, I've been around long enough to hear every which rumor and it’s just all it is, is chatter until I get the call, which would be great. If not, it is all good.”

Following LA’s victory over Real Salt Lake—where Magee bagged his sixth goal of the year—LA head coach Bruce Arena was asked by former U.S. National Team head coach And Time Warner Deportes analyst Steve Sampson about a potential Magee inclusion, but declined comment.

“Steve, you and I both know that a national team coach has a lot of pressure and a lot of critics. I think the national team has coach has to make those decisions," Arena said on the broadcast. "Right now, I’m going to relax and let the coach make all those kind of decisions because as we know, they’re never easy.”

As he looks to continue his form with LA, Magee is taking a similar approaching and leaving the decision to Klinsmann.

“I couldn't figure out why guys get called in and why guys don’t,” Magee said. “Obviously there’s good reasons and I wish I got paid that kind of money to be the coach and make those decisions because I’d play me every time, but obviously, I don’t. There’s a bunch of guys here who deserve a chance.”

Following the news, Galaxy Technical Director Jovan Kirovski sounded off on Arriola's departure.

"He came through our youth academy and our program, we offered him a contract, but he obviously felt that it was better, he got more money or a better team and went on to Tijuana. That's the gap that we have in our system now where we have a lot of these players that are coming through our academy, we can't secure them and anybody outside of MLS or outside the country can sweep them up and take them," Kirovski told LA Galaxy Insider. "That's something that we really have to look into. We spend a lot of resources and a lot time in developing these players and that's one thing that we as a league need to look into and see how we can fix that. That will be even more of a problem going down the road from here as our academy gets better and our players get better"

As for how the Galaxy and MLS as a whole correct this issue, Kirovski states that the league is hard at work in their search for a remedy.

"There's different ways of doing it and one of the things that we've thought of is a USL team and we have a feeder team or an Under-23 team where we have players play that would be something that would fix that," Kirovski said. "We're in the process, but we need to figure that out and have something done for these kids because there's going to be a lot more kids coming through our system."

Arriola is the latest in a line of players, who have played for the Galaxy Academy only to head to foreign shores, joining the likes of Mario Rodriguez, a U.S. U-20 regular, who is currently with German second division club 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Jeffrey Payeras, who is currently with C.S.D. Municipal in Guatemala. Although LA may have lost out on Arriola, Kirovski admitted that he is confident that the Galaxy's academy ranks can continue to produce talent.

"It's another reminder that we have kids coming through our system. We're going to have more kids coming along and we need to secure these players. That's just the way of doing it. We have more players coming through our system, staying in our system and playing with our first team," said Kirovski. "Look at the players that we've developed like Jose Villarreal, Jack McBean and other players like those coming from college, when they come to us, Bruce [Arena] develops players. That's what we do."

And in light of what occured with Arriola, Kirovski intends to continue to lean on LA's record of developing players

"Of course, we are and we've proved it. We'll see down the road. We're going to produce players, we're going to sign players, maybe we're going to make mistakes on certain players, all of that is going to happen," said Kirovski. "Overall, we're going to have players coming through our system and we've already proven that. This is a great place for somebody to develop and learn how to play the game."

CARSON, Calif. –Bruce Arena confirmed that all four LA Galaxy veterans, who missed out on last Saturday’s clash against Real Salt Lake are healthy enough to play this week against the Houston Dynamo, but their status is still in question.

Carlo Cudicini, Landon Donovan, Todd Dunivant and Robbie all missed out in last week’s 2-0 win over RSL, but latter two were not present at training during media availability on Friday. Cudicini and Donovan were present, however, as both addressed the media and expressed optimism over their status.

When asked if the players will be healthy for Sunday’s match, Arena provided a succinct response.

“All players we believe will be available for selection on Sunday,” Arena told reporters.

Six LA Galaxy Academy alums have been called up in recent months including Villarreal, Sorto, Javan Torre, Jeffrey Payeras, Jack McBean and Mario Rodriguez. McBean's dreams are likely over as he is expected to be out six to eight weeks due to a fractured clavicle, but all five others are expected to contend for a spot. Which leads to my question: How many LA Galaxy Academy alums will be on the U.S. U-20 side?

The 29-year-old midfielder joined the Galaxy in the offseason from the Houston Dynamo via the MLS Re-Entry Draft and has made just five appearances for the Galaxy during the 2013 season with four starts. Clark admits that he lost a step in terms of his speed after suffering two ACL tears in 2010 and 2011, but he’s confident that he can regain his form with the Galaxy.

“I haven’t been completely sharp; I’m just missing bad turnovers in certain areas where we have a good chance at goal. I’m just missing that final pass so it’s really about cleaning that up as far as my level of sharpness,” Clark told reporters earlier this week. “It’s just being all around better. Practice as well as reserve games even the minutes if I get in the first team those have to be sharper.”

Although Clark has every reason to be frustrated, the winger is keeping a level head.

“I’ve had up and downs before,” said Clark. “You just have to deal with it and work harder and put in some extra time.”

CARSON, Calif. –Bruce Arena and Dominic Kinnear are two of the finest coaches in MLS and on Sunday, the two will duel as the LA Galaxy take on the Houston Dynamo at The Home Depot Center.

Both coaches rank among the top five in most overall wins with Arena sitting at number two while Kinnear is in fourth. The two coaches account for four of the 18 MLS Coach of the Year awards handed out in MLS history as well as appearances 11 MLS Cup titles in total. Arena has won four MLS Cup trophies as a head coach while Kinnear has two MLS Cup titles of his own.

The pair may be two of the most dominant coaches in MLS history, but Arena has had the edge over his Houston counterpart with a 5-4-1 regular season record (4-3-1 while with the Galaxy) against Kinnear while holding a 3-0-0 record in the postseason including two MLS Cup titles.

Ahead of their first and only –regular season—clash, Arena offered his thoughts of his coaching counterpart.

“It’s certainly Dominic’s team. Dominic is that franchise. He’s built it from scratch, they moved it from San Jose, but that’s all Dominic,” Arena told reporters, also stating that he’s known Kinnear since before the 1994 World Cup. “His outstanding qualities as a coach, although he’s not technically he’s not called general manager, he’s fully responsible for putting that team together. He does an outstanding job and his record speaks for itself. He’s won championships, he’s been in God knows how many finals [Six all-time as a coach and four as a head coach]. He’s really done an outstanding coaching job.”

It was a comeback for the ages as Monterrey won their third consecutive CONCACAF Champions League Final with a 4-2 victory over Santos Laguna.

Santos Laguna was up by two goals heading into the last half hour after strikes from Carlos Quintero and Felipe Beloy, but it was not to be for Santos. Los Rayados roared back with four goals in the last 30 minutes with two from Aldo De Nigris as well as strikes from Neri Cardozo and Humberto Suazo. The title sealed Monterrey's third consecutive victory and their second straight over Santos, who they defeated in the 2011/2012 edition of the tournament.

As we flip the script to the 2013/2014 edition of the tournament, the Montreal Impact eliminated Toronto FC in the semifinals of the 2013 Amway Canadian Championship by overcoming a 2-0 first leg deficit to win 6-0 at Stade Saputo. They'll face Vancouver Whitecaps FC, who defeated NASL side FC Edmonton 2-0 at BC Place to advance 5-3 on aggregate.

Montreal will host Vancouver in the first leg of the Canadian Championship on May 15 before the second leg at BC Place on May 29.

The Houston Dynamo will be without their chief playmaker Brad Davis for their MLS Cup rematch against the LA Galaxy.

An independent review panel rejected an appeal filed by the Dynamo after Davis was given a red card for a foul committed in the fifth minute of second half stoppage time in an April 28 game against the Colorado Rapids.

In order for a call to be overturned, the panel must be unanimous in its decision that the red card issued was an error.